Award winning Ghanaian dancehall artiste, Stonebwoy has told Day Break Hitz on Friday morning that he’s been notified of his tax obligations as a creative arts person by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) through an official letter, requesting him to fulfill his tax responsibilities as soon as practicable – to avoid legal action.
Recently, various celebrities including Kumawood actors, Kwadwo Nkansah Lil Win and Mercy Asiedu have come out publicly to confirm their interactions with revenue authorities about the request to pay their taxes or face the law.
Speaking to Accra based radio station Hitz FM, Stonebwoy reiterated the need for more tax sensitization.
“Companies have to pay taxes, individuals pay, but the education has not been loud enough to understand the essence for our industry folk to pay tax. We need time to get the proper understanding of the means to pay tax or how we should because of the industry we are in, we know taxation helps to build the nation.” – Stonebwoy tells Andy Dosty, host of Hitz 103.9 DayBreak Hitz.
Explaining further, Stonebwoy opined that eventually, celebrities will pay and they are aware of the need to pay. “They have sent me a letter. It’s ok. It’s new so they should educate us more” – he said.
Many pundits have argued that, because creative people don’t have regular income, they should be pardoned- especially that they pay indirectly through various services.
“Our job is not a regular monthly salary based so they need to educate us on it first” He believes government should take time and avoid the threats in their letters requesting them to pay taxes.
Stonebwoy, signed on to ‘cash tagged’ record label, Zylofon Music, is currently promoting his new music video with global dancehall giant, Sean Paul titled “most original” which is available on various online stores at the moment.